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Nicolas Cage becomes a Japanese snack food as the Nicolastick is born

Casey Baseel Oct 3, 2017
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Promotional tie-in for upcoming film Bin Laden is My Prey has an inspired flavor choice.

There was a time when endorsements from Hollywood celebrities were everywhere in Japanese advertising. Some of the most surreal ads were the ones in which American cinematic A-listers hawked products and services they obviously would never use themselves, like when Leonardo DiCaprio encouraged people to drive an incredibly inexpensive Suzuki Wagon R, and Brad Pitt relaxed after a stressful day at the office with some Roots canned coffee.

Sadly, the golden age of Hollywood endorsements is over. Originally, most foreign celebrities agreed to them under the assumption that they’d only be seen in Japan, but now anyone with an Internet connection can pull up Bubble Economy-era commercials in which Sylvester Stallone hawks Ito Ham’s pork products.

However, in a throwback to those heady days of star-studded advertising, Nicolas Cage, who once soulfully sang about his love for pachinko machines from manufacturer Sankyo, will once again appear in a crazy Japanese marketing stunt by becoming a snack food.

Behold: the Umaibo Nicolastick!

https://twitter.com/findingbinladen/status/914733651044139010

Later this month, Cage’s face will be appearing on special packaging for Umaibo puffed corn sticks. Umaibo has long been a favorite of kids and junk food-loving adults in Japan, thanks to its ridiculously cheap price (single sticks often sell for about 10 yen [US$0.09] ) and myriad flavor options.

▼ An ordinary, non-Nicolas Cage Umaibo

Cage’s endorsement is part of the promotions for the Japanese release of Ore no Emono wa bin Laden, or Bin Laden is My Prey, which observes several Japanese cinematic traditions by being quaintly renamed from the original title (Army of One), having an official Japanese-market title (Finding bin Laden) that doesn’t match the meaning of its Japanese one, and coming out long, long after its original release (Army of One premiered in November of 2016 in America, but Bin Laden is My Prey won’t hit Japanese theaters until this December).

Sadly, the Nicolastick won’t be sold in stores. The only way to get your hands on them is to purchase advance tickets for Bin Laden is My Prey when they go on sale on October 13 at Tokyo’s Cinema Shinjuku, Osaka’s Cinemart Shinsaibashi, or Nagoya’s Century Cinema, or through online ticketing service Major at a yet-to-be-determined date. 1,500 yen (US$14) gets you a ticket to the movie and an undisclosed number of Nicolasticks.

But as mentioned above, Umaibo comes in an endless variety of flavors that are salty, sweet, and spicy. So what do these special ones taste like? Though manufacturer Riska could have whipped up a signature flavor for the Nicolasticks, it instead decided to simply repackage its popular corn chowder-flavor Umaibo, which, considering how Cage has made a name for himself with corny acting, seems like a pretty appropriate choice.